INTRODUCTION

I commissioned the Power of Information Review in light of the fast-changing world.
From 1998 to 2006, use of the internet in the UK has grown explosively, from 9% to
57% of households connected to the internet (
Office
for National Statistics, Households with access to the internet, Great
Britain, 23 August 2006). A small group of mums can reach an
audience of hundreds of thousands. They do not need a large organisation with an
expensive IT support system or technological expertise. If 30,000 parents were meeting
in a park or football stadium to share information and tips about parenting, government
would take notice.

The need to understand these changes is clear. But there are no simple solutions. I wanted
independent advice, from experts in online information and consumer advice. It was for
these reasons that I asked Ed Mayo and Tom Steinberg to examine this topic and I
welcome their recommendations. I would like to thank them for their analysis and
insights. It has been a learning process for me and I know that departments are taking up
the challenges they set out.

Government should work in partnership with the best of citizens' efforts, not replicate
them. If we really want to deliver better public services, the best way to do that is bottom
up. Change is driven by better feedback, open information and more ways in which
citizens can make their voices heard about what matters to them.
The challenge is for all public bodies to think about how they can respond to the
challenges described here.

Government is not going to be expert at this overnight. We need to experiment and learn
in partnership. But I am confident we can meet the challenge set by this Review: to
unlock the value of the information we collect on behalf of citizens; to deliver better
public services; and to support world-class innovation that underpins a growing part of
our knowledge economy. Hilary Armstrong June 2007

OVERVIEW OF ISSUES RAISED IN THE REVIEW

1. This is the Government's response to the Power of Information Review
(Mayo, E. and Steinberg, T. (2007). The Power of Information: An independent review by Ed Mayo and Tom Steinberg —CoT version).
The
Government welcomes the Review and its findings in general. This response outlines
how government plans to take forward the recommendations.

Genesis of the Power of Information Review

The Government should support the development of new and innovative services that
provide tailored advice to specific groups (for example the netmums.com website which
provides a discussion and advice forum for mothers). These are outside government's
direct influence, but government has a role to play in supporting them Ð for example by
ensuring that they are not undermined by government programmes or websites with
similar objectives, and have easy access to publicly available information.
HM Government (2007). Building on progress: Public services, p.38

4. Against this background, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster commissioned the
Review from Tom Steinberg, one of the world's leading practitioners of online re-use of
government information, and Ed Mayo, a leading social entrepreneur and consumer
activist.

To explore new developments in the use and communication of citizen- and State-
generated public information in the UK, and to present an analysis and recommendations
to the Cabinet Office Minister as part of the Policy Review. The Review is focused upon
public information and excludes discussion about individuals' private data that may be
held by the public sector.

engage in partnership with user-led online communities: to add value, help people and
listen to peoples' views on public service, as indeed public servants do in the offline
world. Government must engage or risk being left behind. These communities are a
major new force in the communications landscape and it is important that the public
sector engages with them. Government will work with online communities but take care
not to smother them, or unnecessarily replicate their efforts;

ensure that it fully understands and responds appropriately to changes in the information
market: the markets for public sector information have changed fundamentally due to
technological advances. The Power of Information Review by Ed Mayo and Tom
Steinberg and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report (
The commercial use of public information).
make it clear that there are new
issues that need to be addressed. Government will publish a study on these issues. The
terms of reference for this study are currently under development but it is expected to
concentrate on availability and pricing of public sector information by trading funds; and

advise civil servants on how best to participate in new media: government should
provide clear and consistent advice to civil servants on how to fulfil their role in both
online and offline contexts. This should involve providing accurate, helpful and timely
information to the public.

7. Our understanding is that the UK Government is the first in the world to have
commissioned a review of this kind. The UK experience in this area seems to be
particularly vivid and we would welcome information on analogous activities elsewhere
in the world.

8. This response concerns non-devolved matters. The Minister for the Cabinet Office has
written to the leaders of the devolved administrations to commend the Review to them
and has invited them to respond in as far as matters apply to their administrations.

11. The example of large-scale community activity demonstrated by the Review shows
the benefits of very large proportions of society being online. It shows people adapting to
the online environment with creativity and ingenuity and using it to tackle the challenges
they face in their daily lives. It also shows a shift in behaviour from passive information
services to more interactive services or, in the jargon, from web 1.0 to web 2.0. It is
particularly striking that information created by very small numbers of people resolving a
problem can then be shared with hundreds of thousands at no cost. The Review also
shows some of the disadvantages and hazards for government and the public. For
example, the Review described the distribution of negative or inaccurate
information among groups of anorexia nervosa sufferers.

12. The Reviewers proposed a simple vision for government for public information:
that citizens, consumers and government can create, re-use and distribute information in
ways that add maximum value
(Mayo, E. and Steinberg, T. (2007). The Power of Information: An independent review by Ed Mayo and Tom Steinberg —CoT version).

those who manipulate data to create new public information goods and services, known
as 'data mashers', whose output can be used by large audiences. The technical skill
required to 'mash' data is falling fast.

14. The Government accepts that in both cases economic and social value can be, and is
being, created in new ways. Government accepts that the scale of activity set out in the
Review would suggest that this activity is not a fad but a new social trend.

15. The Reviewers draw a comparison between online mutual support and the 19th-
century cooperative and self-help movements. The Government finds this to be apposite.
However, the Government is concerned that this comparison should not be misused as a
simplistic justification for a return to laissez-faire government in areas where online self-
help and mutual support are active.

16. The Government accepts the Review's general findings that technological advances
are increasing the value Ð especially the social and economic value Ð of information
generated by the public sector. The internet and the ease with which large amounts of
data can now be manipulated allow completely new uses to be made of government
information. This can be done at costs that are much lower than before, and the results
made available to many more people than before. This is a good thing, but like many
innovations has significant disruptive potential to existing business models and practices.

Progress has been made since 1997. The Government's Cross-cutting Review of the
Knowledge Economy
(2000)
made many positive changes, including the introduction of marginal cost pricing
for raw data (with the exception of trading funds), the establishment of the Office of
Public Sector Information (OPSI) as a regulator, and the introduction of Information
Asset Registers.

The Department of Trade and Industry's work with industry on the Effective Content
Initiative (link)(including a series of public-private sector workshops) has helped raise
awareness of the potential for innovation in new media in the public sector.

18. The NHS can point to good examples of working with agencies in the public, private
and third sectors to promote the re-use of NHS data, although government recognises that
there is no room for complacency. In particular, NHS Direct Online and the National
ibrary for Health both work with user-led online communities to facilitate
dissemination of quality information and promote patient choice and empowerment.
They do this through sites such as DIPEx (Directory of Patient Experiences) and
www.patient.co.uk.

19. Government welcomes the clarity provided by the Review in its focus on public
sector rather than personal information. Much of the Government's work is derived from
what is ultimately personal data and, in many cases, sensitive information, and we require
robust safeguards, including the effective anonymisation of personal data, to ensure that
the basic requirement of confidentiality is not compromised.

20. The Reviewers suggest that risk aversion plays a major part in limiting government
engagement with user-generated media. The Reviewers also report a lack of skills and
understanding among often junior officials. The Government notes this. The Government
wishes to move to a risk-managed approach. It is well understood that risk aversion can
actually create more risk by preventing action (See the National Audit Office
report on risk management (Supporting innovation: Managing risk in government
departments, HC 864, Session 1999-2000) and HM Treasury (2004). The Orange Book: Management
of risk - principles and concepts).

21. The Reviewers note that 'the Government Communications Group is analysing the
Government's digital and social media capability'. The Permanent Secretary for
Government Communications has, in parallel with the Power of Information Review, set
up an internal Social Media Review that encompasses user-generated media.
The outcomes of that Review will include equipping government communications
professionals with the necessary skills to move from a risk-averse to a risk-managed
engagement with user-generated media. The findings on social media will be published
on the Cabinet Office website.

22. Work by the Central Office of Information (COI) to develop experimental
partnerships between major departments and user-generated sites will no doubt reveal
many challenges for government that need to be addressed.

Exploring new opportunities

23. The Reviewers suggest that government 'can usefully participate in the new world of
information production and distribution'
(Mayo, E. and Steinberg, T. (2007). The Power of Information: An independent review by Ed Mayo and Tom Steinberg —CoT version).
. This finding accords with the Government's
largely successful approach to online matters that in general there should be parity of
approach for online and offline behaviour.

24. A modern service delivery strategy will seek to use channels popular with citizens. If
large numbers of people are seeking advice on a public policy issue then government will
often provide that advice through conventional media and should do the same online as
new opportunities emerge. If, for instance:

30,000 people gather in a park or stadium to discuss parenting or their problems with a
regulated utility, the relevant parts of the public services should be interested in helping.
Indeed, people would often expect such help.

25. The Reviewers, who between them have huge experience of online media and
consumer behaviour, do not recommend a one-size-fits-all approach. They recommend
that government should develop a programme of experimental partnership to engage with
user-generated media. Subject to detailed comments on the recommendations below, the
Government accepts this. However, it is the nature of experiments that they sometimes
have unexpected consequences. The Government will adopt a beta testing model to signal
clearly where an experiment is in progress.

26. Local government is frequently leading the way. The Reviewers unfortunately were
not able to address local government practice in the time available. The generic issues set
out in the Review and in this response apply equally to local and national government.
The Government wishes to recognise the extent to which local government is making
innovative use of the internet through initiatives such as the Digital Challenge
competition.

27. There are tensions that the Reviewers do not fully explore in their observations about
the Government not duplicating the efforts of pre-existing user-generated websites. The
Government agrees that needless duplication is unsatisfactory. Government should
neither smother nor crowd out innovators. The strength of new technologies is that, for
example, a substantial self-help discussion forum with many tens of thousands of
members can be run by one person as a volunteer. Or, indeed, ownership may be far from
clear, being in the hands of many volunteers and stakeholders.

28. However, in a strict procurement, accountability and legal framework, it is
challenging for government to rely wholly upon such organisations for delivering advice,
especially on sensitive or controversial issues. Such challenges are often encountered
when working in the offline world with the third sector and can be resolved with an
appropriate risk management approach. This is an issue to explore in the experimentation
that the Reviewers suggest.

Public information charging, licensing and regulation

29. The Reviewers consulted with the civil servants working on the Government's
response to the OFT's market report on the commercial use of public information. This
response to the Power of Information Review should be read alongside the Government's
response to the OFT report, which will be published simultaneously with this response.

30. The Review further reinforces the arguments put by the OFT. Government recognises
that the dynamics of information markets have changed radically due to advances in
technology. An important part of this change is the ability of individual innovators and
social entrepreneurs to create information goods and services that were once the preserve
of large corporations. This is an important new segment of the knowledge economy. It is
evidence of a healthy climate of innovation that demand for public sector information is
growing. The Government wishes to find a way of unlocking innovative potential for
public information without jeopardising the production of public information itself and in
a cost-efficient manner. This requires further work on an evidence base and, subject to
that work, possible amendments to policy for government bodies and the regulatory
regime.

Protecting the public interest

31. The Government welcomes the Reviewers' conclusion that there is a role for public
servants to promote consistent and reliable information on public policy matters online. It
agrees that this must be done professionally with appropriate guidance and training in
order to yield benefits.

32. The Government notes that there is substantial potential for the socially excluded to
benefit from the issues discussed in the Review both directly (such as isolated parents
using Netmums) and indirectly (people receiving better benefits advice through services
such as www.rightsnet.org.uk, where benefits advisers help each other out with difficult
cases).

33. The Government will ensure that the Digital Inclusion Team is properly involved in
implementing the Review's recommendations. The Team operates across and connects
all sectors to stimulate innovation in the application of all varieties of digital technology,
including, but not limited to, the internet. One particular focus is on the partnerships at
local level between public and third sector agencies that deliver advice and services to
socially disadvantaged people. It is therefore right for it to be the organisation to look at
the potential of user-generated sites to benefit such people, and it is a natural extension of
its work.

Next steps

34. The Government will make a progress report in December 2007 in line with that
required to respond to the OFT. This response is not the Government's final word, but the
beginning of a phase of policy activity to work through the Review's recommendations
and their consequences. Subsequent reports will be made at six-monthly intervals until
the recommendations are fully implemented and an assessment of their effect can be
made. This response does not stand alone but should be read alongside the Government's
response to the OFT's 2006 report The
commercial use of public information.

RESPONSE TO SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation 1. To improve service delivery and communication with the public, the
Central Office of Information (COI), in partnership with the Office of Public Sector
Information (OPSI), should coordinate the development of experimental partnerships
between major departments and user-generated sites in key policy areas including
parenting advice (Department for Education and Skills (DfES)), services for young
people, and healthcare (Department of Health (DH)).

This recommendation moves government from taking a passive role in this area to
actively encouraging experimental partnerships between public bodies and the creators of
user-generated information, in particular consulting sensitively with user groups and
learning from them. Government will also consider how the insight and enthusiasm of
those engaged in online self-help could inform the design, delivery and governance of
public services.

COI welcomes the opportunity to work with OPSI in developing experimental
partnerships between user-generated sites and major departments. COI will, on behalf of
government departments, and in consultation with policy owners, identify opportunities
in this area that may be developed. COI is already coordinating the development of one
such service for young people with DfES, DH and the Home Office.

In this context, COI will work with departments to produce an overarching strategic
approach for government in this new area of communications. Through the Minister for
the Cabinet Office, COI will bring this strategy for discussion to the appropriate Cabinet
Committee by winter 2007.

Where resources are available, OPSI is well positioned to provide specialist advice,
guidance and support to all those involved in such partnerships, in particular about
intellectual property rights and the re-use of public sector information. These issues are
often perceived as barriers, but such barriers are rarely insurmountable. The role for OPSI
here is to encourage, inform, facilitate and reassure both departments and site creators.

Recommendation 2. To reduce unnecessary duplication of pre-existing user-generated
sites, COI should update the guidelines for minimum website standards by December
2007; departments should be strongly advised to consult the operators and users of pre-
existing user-generated sites before they build their own
versions.

As part of the Government's overall policy of website rationalisation, in which COI plays
a key advisory role, COI welcomes the opportunity to develop updated website
guidelines by December 2007 and these will include advice to website owners to research
thoroughly existing user-generated material.

Recommendation 3. Departments, monitored by COI, should research the scale and role
of user-generated websites in their areas, with a view to either terminating government
services that are no longer required, or modifying them to complement citizen-led
endeavours.

As part of the Government's overall policy on website rationalisation, and in the interests
of government as a whole, COI's Media Monitoring Unit and Research Unit will develop
tools to enable government to research the scale and role of user-generated websites.
Where necessary, and as part of their overall guidance to departments on website
rationalisation, COI will advise departments to avoid duplication of existing
user-generated material and/or to modify them to complement citizen-led endeavours.

Recommendations 2 and 3 are not, however, magic bullets to prevent poor practice. They
act as useful checkpoints, but require a wider transformation in business practice and
philosophy. The work of the Government Communications Group on Social Media will
help drive this transformation.

Recommendation 4. To encourage innovation in the re-use of information by non-
commercial users, UK trading funds should, in consultation with OPSI, examine the
introduction of non-commercial re-use licences, along the lines of those pioneered by the
BBC's Backstage project [an innovative platform for free use of information] and Google
Maps.

The Government concurs with the Reviewers that it is no longer necessary to be a big
organisation in order to achieve significant benefits from using information. The
technology has progressed to the point where it is not the cost of the infrastructure but the
quality and execution of the ideas that is the biggest determinant of success on the web.
The challenge for government is how to encourage rather than stifle innovation through
its licensing policies. Amazon is a good example of a business with a range of web
services that are free for non-commercial use, designed to seed innovation, and with the
ultimate objective of spinning out commercial services.

Subject to resources being available, OPSI is keen to work with the trading funds and
HM Treasury to evaluate the potential impact of a more enabling stance for non-
commercial re-use, to encourage experimentation and innovation. If this evaluation
proves fruitful, OPSI could mandate the provision of such licences by trading funds
under the Information Fair Trader Schemes (IFTS) and as part of their delegation of
authority for licensing Crown copyright.

Recommendation 6. To promote innovative use of public sector information, the
Department for Transport (DfT), with the support of the Chief Scientific Adviser's
Committee, should complete the partially undertaken scoping and costing of a 'data
mashing laboratory' and advise the Cabinet Committee of Science and
Innovation on appropriate next steps.

DfT welcomes recommendation 6 of the Review, calling for completion of the scoping
work for a government 'data mashing laboratory' carried out on behalf of the Cabinet
Committee of Science and Innovation. A think piece was circulated in July 2006
outlining the creation of a laboratory to develop innovative data mashing applications
using public sector information. DfT has continued to engage stakeholders through a
number of workshop-style events and projects demonstrating the potential of web 2.0-
type technologies. DfT looks forward to completing this work over the coming months,
with the support of the Chief Scientific Adviser's Committee, and will advise the
Committee on appropriate ways forward.

Recommendation 7. To improve understanding, effective usage and take-up of
government services, COI should examine options for more self-help fora for public
services and publish guidance for departments on how and when to set up such fora by
December 2007.

The Reviewers point to citizens setting up their own fora for self-help on public policy
issues. It is only a matter of time until citizens set up their own fora directly for public
services. There are already examples such as the self-help forum for benefits advisers at
www.rightsnet.org.uk. There are risks and benefits inherent in such fora as there are in
any form of advice provision, whether leaflets, helplines or electronic media. A better
understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in this area will
better inform decision making by those designing public services.

COI welcomes the opportunity to improve understanding, effective usage and take-up of
government services and will examine options for more self-help for public services. COI
will look for ways to improve self-help fora offered through the current online channels,
such as Directgov, and for new opportunities in the future.

Recommendation 8. To improve government's responsiveness to demand for public
sector information, by July 2008 OPSI should create a web-based channel to gather and
assess requests for publication of public sector information.

OPSI (formerly Her Majesty's Stationery Office in the Cabinet Office) is now part of the
National Archives, an independent body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. National
Archives/OPSI has already had its Comprehensive Spending Review settlement,
independent of the Ministry of Justice. The settlement takes account of neither the OFT
nor the Power of Information Review recommendations.

The opportunities for innovative re-use are necessarily hard to predict. It is hard to know
in advance what information would be most valued for re-use or what format it might
best be made available in. The solution proposed in the Review is ingenious and uses the
wisdom of the community to identify where and how the format barriers to re-use might
be overcome.

Recommendation 9. By Budget 2008, government should commission and publish an
independent review of the costs and benefits of the current trading fund charging model
for the re-use of public sector information, including the role of the five largest trading
funds, the balance of direct versus downstream economic revenue, and the impact on the
quality of public sector information.

[to be considered with:]

Recommendation 10. To ensure the most appropriate supply of information for re-use,
government should consistently apply its policy of marginal cost pricing for 'raw'
information to all public bodies, including trading funds, except where the published
economic analysis in recommendation 9 shows this does not serve the interests of UK
citizens.

[to be considered with:]

Recommendation 12. To ensure that OPSI can regulate the public sector information
market effectively, government should review the fit between OPSI's functions and
funding, and recommend options that will ensure it is fit for
purpose.

Public information provided through trading funds plays a vital role in the UK's
economy. The Reviewers are correct that a solid body of work is required before
consideration is given to the future of the trading funds model. Such work will take into
account the operations and realities of trading funds such as Ordnance Survey.

The Government accepts the thrust of recommendation 9. Government will undertake
economic analysis of these issues to be published this year. The terms of reference for
this study are currently under development but it is expected to concentrate on the
availability and pricing of public sector information by trading funds. The Shareholder
Executive leads the Government's relationship with a number of trading funds. The
economic review will consult the Shareholder Executive as part of its work. Only after
that work has been carried out can decisions be taken about recommendations 10 and 12.
The Government's response to the OFT report, to be considered alongside this document,
makes it clear that, if major changes are needed to OPSI's regulatory role, then the
National Archives 'should consider what their policy priorities are and provide funding
accordingly within this allocation'. Many economic regulators charge those they regulate
to recover the costs of their regulatory role. Whether such a change is needed, to bring
OPSI in line with other economic regulators, will not be known until after the economic
analysis but it is not precluded by the response to the OFT response.

Recommendation 11. To improve the supply of government information for re-use, the
Better Regulation Executive should promote publication of regulatory information, and
should work with OPSI to encourage publication in open formats and under licences
permitting re-use.

Regulation is about better outcomes for society, citizens and businesses. The Review
shows that new uses of information can put more power in people's hands to the
advantage of existing regulatory systems by opening them up and explaining them in
everyday language. Information to the public about the performance of both the regulated
and the regulators increases transparency, accountability and the power of choice.

The Better Regulation Executive is collaborating with the National Consumer Council
to evaluate the circumstances in which information is an effective part of the regulatory
landscape. In reporting it will look for opportunities to exploit regulatory information,
reputation and emerging online models of information to replace existing small-print
requirements and will consider further opportunities for the publication of
regulatory information. This project will report in the second half of 2007.

The Better Regulation Executive is also looking at the role of intermediaries in
providing advice to businesses and voluntary sector organisations on regulation. The
research will set out the economic arguments for reducing the costs to intermediaries of
using information on regulation produced by government. As a result, the Better
Regulation Executive will work with other departments to facilitate access to this
information for re-use by third parties. This work will be completed in the second half
of 2007.

In terms of open formats and licensing, it is envisaged that existing Click-Use licensing
models that have been developed by OPSI can be utilised to meet this recommendation.
OPSI will take the lead in developing good practice in open formats and licensing and the
Better Regulation Executive will work with them in communicating this to key
departments and regulators.

Recommendation 13. To maximise the potential value of civil servants' input into online
fora, by autumn 2007 the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics and Government
Communications teams should together clarify how civil servants should respond to
citizens seeking government advice and guidance online.

The Government agrees with the Reviewers that, with the right guidance and training,
public servants could make a valuable contribution to online debate. As the Reviewers
note, there are two separate issues: the Civil Service Code, which governs the ability of
individual civil servants to make public statements; and policy and practice in
government communications management. The latter will determine which public
servants have the right skills and remit to make public statements. This is an apposite
time to review how this framework functions with new media.

Recommendation 14. The Digital Inclusion Team should explore the potential for
promoting digital and social inclusion through the partnerships proposed in
recommendation 1 and report to the Sub-Committee on Electronic Service Delivery
(PSX(E)), in line with recommendation 15.

The Digital Inclusion Team is funded by the UK Government and based in a local
authority to implement the former Social Exclusion Unit's report Inclusion through
innovation, published in 2005. Its focus is on how the innovative application of digital
technologies, of any kind, can improve the lives and life chances of socially
excluded people and deprived neighbourhoods in England.

The Team operates across and connects all sectors to stimulate innovation in the
application of all varieties of digital technology, including, but not limited to, the internet.
One particular focus is on the partnerships at local level between public and third sector
agencies that deliver advice and services to socially disadvantaged people. Local
government is making innovative use of the internet through initiatives such as the
Digital Challenge competition. It is therefore right for the Digital Inclusion Team to be
the organisation to look at the potential of user-generated sites to benefit such people, and
it is a natural extension of its work.

The Government therefore welcomes and accepts recommendation 14, and the
recommendation in the text that the Team is consulted as part of establishing the
partnerships mentioned in recommendation 1. It will invite the Digital Inclusion Team to
undertake the proposed work and take stock of progress by the end of 2007.

Recommendation 15. The Minister for the Cabinet Office, in conjunction with OPSI,
should report to PSX(E) by December 2007 on departments' plans for implementing
these recommendations, and by December 2008 on progress and
results.

Government will take stock of progress across departments by the end of 2007. This
response is not the Government's final word, but the beginning of a phase of policy
activity to work through the Review's recommendations and their consequences.
Subsequent reports will be made at six-monthly intervals until the recommendations are
fully implemented and an assessment of their effect can be made.

TABLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESPONSES

Recommendation 1. To improve service delivery
and communication with the public, the Central
Office of Information (COI), in partnership with
the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI),
should coordinate the development of
experimental partnerships between major
departments and user-generated sites in key policy
areas including parenting advice (Department for
Education and Skills (DfES)), services for young
people, and healthcare (Department of Health
(DH)).

Recommendation 2. To reduce unnecessary
duplication of pre-existing user-generated sites,
COI should update the guidelines for minimum
website standards by December 2007; departments
should be strongly advised to consult the operators
and users of pre-existing user-generated
sites before they build their own versions.

Recommendation 3. Departments, monitored by
COI, should research the scale and role of user-
generated websites in their areas, with a view to
either terminating government services that are no
longer required, or modifying them to complement
citizen-led endeavours.

Recommendation 4. To encourage innovation in
the re-use of information by non-commercial
users, UK trading funds should, in
consultation with OPSI, examine the introduction
of non-commercial re-use licences, along the lines
of those pioneered by the BBC's Backstage project
and Google Maps.

Recommendation 6. To promote innovative use of
public sector information, the Department for
Transport, with the support of the Chief
Scientific Adviser's Committee, should complete
the partially undertaken scoping and costing of a
'data mashing laboratory' and advise the Cabinet
Committee of Science and Innovation on
appropriate next steps.

Recommendation 7. To improve understanding,
effective usage and take-up of government
services, COI should examine options for more
self-help fora for public services and publish
guidance for departments on how and when to set
up such fora by December 2007.

Recommendation 8. To improve government's
responsiveness to demand for public sector
information, by July 2008 OPSI should create a
web-based channel to gather and assess requests
for publication of public sector information.

Recommendation 9. By Budget 2008, government
should commission and publish an independent
review of the costs and benefits of the current
trading fund charging model for the re-use of
public sector information, including the role of the
five largest trading funds, the balance of direct
versus downstream economic revenue, and the
impact on the quality of public sector information.
[to be considered with:]
Recommendation 10. To ensure the most
appropriate supply of information for re-use,
government should consistently apply its policy of
marginal cost pricing for 'raw' information to all
public bodies, including trading funds, except
where the published economic analysis in
recommendation 9 shows this does not serve the
interests of UK citizens.
[to be considered with:]
Recommendation 12. To ensure that OPSI can
regulate the public sector information market
effectively, government should review the fit
between OPSI's functions and funding, and
recommend options that will ensure it is
fit for purpose.

PARTIALLY ACCEPTED: The
Government accepts the
thrust of recommendation 9
and this year will undertake
independent economic work
that will be published. Only
after that work has been
carried out can decisions
be taken about
recommendations 10 and 12.

Recommendation 11. To improve the supply of
government information for re-use, the Better
Regulation Executive should promote publication
of regulatory information, and should work with
OPSI to encourage publication in open formats and
under licences permitting re-use.

Recommendation 13. To maximise the potential
value of civil servants' input into online fora, by
autumn 2007 the Cabinet Office Propriety and
Ethics and Government Communications teams
should together clarify how civil servants should
respond to citizens seeking government advice
and guidance online.

Recommendation 14. The Digital Inclusion Team
should explore the potential for promoting digital
and social inclusion through the partnerships
proposed in recommendation 1 and report to the
Sub-Committee on Electronic Service Delivery
(PSX(E)), in line with recommendation 15.

Recommendation 15. The Minister for the Cabinet
Office, in conjunction with OPSI, should report to
PSX(E) by December 2007 on departments'
plans for implementing these recommendations,
and by December 2008 on progress and results.

ACCEPTED: In line with
recommendation 15,
government will take stock of
progress across departments
by the end of 2007.